"The length is (length of 1 bp)(number of bp per cell) which is (0.34 nm)(6 × 109)"

2.0 m

Leltninger, Albert L. Biochemistry. New York: Worth, 1975.

"Chromosome 13 contains a DNA molecule about 3.2 cm long."

1.5 m

"Cell." The World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: Field Enterprises, 1996.

"On the average, a single human chromosome consists of DNA molecule that is about 2 inches long."

2.3 m

The chromosomes in the nucleus of a cell contain all the information a cell
needs to carry on its life processes. They are made up of a complex chemical
(a nucleic acid) called deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA for short. Scientist's
decoding of the chemical structure of DNA has led to a simple conceptual
understanding of genetic processes. DNA is the hereditary material of all
cells. It is a double-stranded helical macromolecule consisting of nucleotide
monomers with deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A),
cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T). In the chromosomes of a cell,
DNA occurs as fine, spirally coiled threads that in turn coils around another,
like a twisted ladder.

The DNA molecule is threaded so fine that it is only possible to see it under
high powerful electron microscopes. To get a sense of exactly how long
an uncoiled DNA molecule is compared to a typical cell, a cell is magnified
1000 times. At this scale, the total length of all the DNA in the cell's
nucleus would be 3 km -- the equivalent distance of the Lincoln Memorial to the capital in Washington,
DC.

The human genome comprises the information contained in one set of human
chromosomes which themselves contain about 3 billion base pairs (bp) of
DNA in 46 chromosomes (22 autosome pairs + 2 sex chromosomes). The total
length of DNA present in one adult human is calculated by the multiplication
of